About

About Counselling:

Looking for a confidential and non-judgemental place to freely discuss concerns?
Looking to work towards resolving difficulties and better handle future challenges?
Looking to live in a more personally meaningful way?

Psychologists offer talk-based therapy. It’s a safe and respectful place for you to freely talk about issues or concerns which impact on your emotional well-being. Goals in counselling may include identifying new ways to “do” life, improve interactions and relationships, deal with difficult emotions and ‘be’ in your world in a more comfortable way.

In the first session we’ll begin discussing your hopes and goals, and together develop a plan as to how to manage the challenges you are dealing with.

How does Jan work?

Jan responsively engages with her clients in a safe, non-judgemental and confidential setting. She seeks to assist clients to freely discuss concerns and discover strategies to work towards resolving difficulties, better handling future challenges, and living in a more personally meaningful way.

Jan uses strategies drawn from evidence-based approaches including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), psychodynamic psychotherapy, dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), interpersonal psychotherapy, eye movement desensitisation and reprogramming (EMDR), mindfulness and relaxation.

Is what I talk about confidential?

While everything you say to a psychologist is confidential, a psychologist may breach confidentiality in a limited number of situations, such as:

If there is an immediate threat of harm to yourself or others.
Court Subpoena
Third party providers including Work Safe and Insurance companies may request information concerning your treatment or progress. This will be done only with your written permission.
Supervision: Psychologists are required to obtain regular supervision to assist their work with clients. If an aspect of your treatment were to be discussed in supervision, you will remain anonymous.

Fees and Rebates

Fees:

The standard fee for sessions held between 9 am and 5 pm is $150; $165 is charged for sessions held outside of these hours.
In certain situations, a fee reduction may be available.

Rebates through Medicare:

You may be eligible for a Medicare rebate for up to 10 sessions a year. Please discuss this with your GP, who will determine whether you are eligible for a mental health plan. This means that if your session fee is, say $150, after you receive the Medicare rebate you will be out of pocket a little over $60.

Please note: When coming to your first appointment, please make sure that you bring the GP’s referral letter and Mental Health Treatment Plan to enable you to claim the rebate.

For more information about Medicare rebates please click the link to the Better access to mental health care: Fact sheet for patients:

Rebates through private health cover:

If you have private health insurance with extras cover, you may be able to claim a rebate for psychological services. Please check your policy details with your provider. The usual insurance practice is that no insurance cover is applicable on a counselling session when a Medicare rebate is/will be received.

Private funding:

There is no need to have a GP referral or Medicare rebate. At times individuals may fund sessions privately.

What Fees pay for:

Session fees pay for a range of duties in addition to your session time. Tasks include out of session work including session preparation, after session administrative and professional tasks like record keeping, scoring assessments, writing to your GP, case management and other duties for which no further payment is charged.

As a private independent psychologist, I also pay my own operational costs including for room rental, office equipment and supplies, personally incurred expenses such as mandated ongoing professional training and supervision, insurances, annual leave, and continue to pay HECS/HELP fees associated with my 6+ full-time years of higher education training to qualify as a psychologist.

I am not a paid employee which means I incur lost income when clients do not attend or cancel appointments. I value your understanding of my need to maintain fees that provide me with a sustainable income. Thank you.